Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish heaped praise on Eagles full-back Joel Ward after he played his 200th league game for the Eagles in the win against West Ham.
The former Portsmouth defender has featured in every Premier League club this season for Palace , having found his opportunities limited last season due to the form of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
But following Wan-Bissaka's £50million move to Manchester United this summer, the 29-year-old has re-established himself as the Eagles' first choice right-back, having been a regular in the side prior to the emergence of the Palace academy graduate.
Ward marked his 200th league game for Palace with a win as the Eagles won 2-1 against West Ham on Saturday at the London Stadium.
And Parish has hailed the defender's commitment, having been with the club since 2012 and signed a new three-year contract in the summer of 2018.
“Joel Ward to me epitomises everything we have got in the football club. You can spend £45m on a striker, or £42m on a left-sided player, or £27m on a right-sided player, as it was at the weekend [against West Ham], but Joel Ward was £400,000 from Portsmouth," he said.
“And is there a better servant to the club at the moment?
“People talk about giving 100 per cent, and has anyone ever seen Joel Ward give anything other than everything?
“To me, he is absolutely everything about Crystal Palace."
Ward has scored five goals in 226 appearances since joining Palace from Portsmouth in 2012, with the defender being a part of the Eagles' promotion-winning squad in 2013, with the right-back producing a vital last-gasp goalline clearance in the play-off final against Watford to help his team to victory.
He then missed just 11 league games over the next four seasons, and played for Palace in the FA Cup final in 2016, when the Eagles lost 2-1 against Manchester United, after extra time.
He has made eight appearances so far this season for the Eagles.
